Tuesday, November 5, 2024

My Review for Escape to Polkerran Point by Cass Grafton

November 05, 2024  , , , , , , ,  No comments



This week I took a second trip to Polkerran Point and this time I went along with Lauren for the ride. Pregnant, with no job and no home, Lauren seeks the comfort of her best friend Anna, who has already been living in Polkerran Point for a while and welcomes Lauren with open arms.

I loved Lauren; I loved how she really wasn’t sure about Polkerran Point, how she initially missed the hustle and bustle of city life and, most of all, I loved how the beauty of Cornwall grew on her until she almost didn’t want to leave.

Daniel and Lauren were cute, and much more suited to each other than with either of their exes, but boy their lack of communication was frustrating - for heaven’s sake, just tell each other how you feel!

Although this is the second book in the series, it can absolutely be read as a standalone, but don’t. Do yourself a favour and buy both books, or even treat yourselves and buy the third one too which has recently been released!

About the Book


Can fake dating turn into something more with a baby on the way? High-flying exec Lauren Kirkham is having a bad week. Unexpectedly pregnant, out of work and – when dumped by her boyfriend – with nowhere to live. She needs a respite, and so goes to visit her friend Anna in Polkerran for a short stay.

Polkerran’s local handyman Daniel Tremayne is busy building his own ‘grand design’ on one of the cove’s cliffs. When TV crews turn up to film, expecting a happily paired up couple, he urgently needs a fake live-in girlfriend, since he's also split with his ex.

Can Lauren and Daniel solve their mutual dilemmas by joining forces, and if so, will their hearts emerge unscathed?



About Cass - by Cass

I began my writing life in Regency England, enlisted Jane Austen's help to timetravel between then and the present day and am now happily ensconced in 21st century Cornwall.


Well, in my imagination and soul; my heart and physical presence reside in northern England with my ever-patient husband and Tig and Tag, our cute but exceptionally demanding moggies.


A bit of a nomad, I’ve called three countries home, as well as six different English counties, but my aspiration is to one day reunite with my beloved West Country.


In the meantime, I write feel-good contemporary romances set in Cornwall and, in doing so, manage to live there vicariously through my characters and settings





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Friday, November 1, 2024

My Review for Summer at the Little French Cafe by Karen Clarke, read by Lucy Bromilow

November 01, 2024  , , , , , ,  No comments


A lovely listen from a first-time author to me with Karen Clarke’s Summer at the Little French Cafe. Elle Matheson is off to France to try to find her birth mother, but she doesn’t have a lot to go on. The book was full of humour, great characters, and intrigue! Elle immediately fit in with everyone and they all warm to her. Maybe this is the place she is destined to be! 

If you are a fan of a small-town romance with memorable characters, a cute cafe and some goats, then give this book a listen or a read. I didn’t realise until afterwards that this is part of a series, however; you don’t need to have read a previous book to enjoy this one. I will be going back and trying some more of Karen’s books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Egmont Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review Summer at the Little French Cafe by Karen Clarke.

About the Book

In the beautiful village of Chamillon lies the Café Belle Vie, where you’ll always find croissants and friends when you need them the most – and where Elle is hoping to uncover the truth about her past…

Thirty-year-old Elle Matheson has decided it’s finally time to find the mother who gave her up as a baby. With a faded postcard from the Café Belle Vie in hand – one of the very few things she has from her mother – she heads straight to the Île de Ré to begin her search. 

With only the postcard and the ivory shawl she was wrapped in as clues, finding her mum is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, even with the help of friendly – and gorgeous – café-owner Charlie. And since Elle hasn’t exactly told her younger sister what she’s up to, the little white lies about where she is are starting to add up… 

But Elle is really starting to feel at home on the beautiful island. The locals are welcoming, the café is homely, and Charlie is always there with a helping hand, a listening ear, and a pain au chocolat. 

Is Elle about to discover not just where she came from – but where she belongs?


About Karen - by Karen

I was born in North Yorkshire in the UK but have lived in Buckinghamshire with my

husband and three children for many years.

​I've loved writing since childhood and when I was eleven had a poem published in 'Judy' comic, which I dined out on for years before deciding I had better move on and write something else.

After joining an online writing group, I began submitting short stories to women's magazines and have sold over 300 in the UK and abroad. 

I never let go of my dream to write a novel, inspired by some of my early favourite romantic comedy authors (and the Adrian Mole series by Sue Townsend) and was thrilled to be approached by award-winning publisher Bookouture to write my Beachside series. Writing 3 novels in a year was a challenge but one I enjoyed rising to, following that series with three more books, set in fictional Seashell Cove, while my third series features The Little French Cafe located in the beautiful Ile de Re in France. 

​Three previous romcoms, with a paranormal twist, can be downloaded from Amazon and are also available as audiobooks. I love listening to books in the car and have been known to prolong a journey so I can listen for longer!

​A step to the dark side in 2019 saw me switch to writing psychological thrillers for HarperCollins/HQ Stories, which I love, and all four are available in digital, paperback and audio format, with a fifth being published in 2023.





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